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Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Another Canadian university cuts ties with China-influenced campus group

By
True North Wire
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Another Canadian university has cut ties with a campus group linked to the Communist Party of China (CCP). 

According to the Epoch Times, Brock University’s operating agreement with the Confucius Institute expired at the end of May. 

A Brock University statement dated May 1 announced that it would not be renewing an agreement with the Chinese state-influenced group as of the month’s end. 

“The Confucius Institute (CI) will be concluding its operations out of Brock University when the current operating agreement expires in May,” claimed a Brock University news briefing. 

Brock University joins McMaster, the University of Sherbrooke, the University of British Columbia and others in rejecting partnerships with the institute. 

The termination of the agreement means that CI will not be allowed to operate on campus. Prior to termination, CI had a presence at the university for a decade. 

While CI maintains it is mainly a cultural group for Chinese diaspora, intelligence agencies have flagged the multinational organization as a tool for the CCP to conduct foreign influence campaigns. 

CI groups have been established at hundreds of post-secondary institutions all over the world. In Canada, 10 universities currently have a CI operating on campus.

Prior to Brock’s decision, New Brunswick’s Minister of Education Dominic Cardy had some choice words for the group while announcing the province would be cutting ties with the organization.

Cardy claimed that the institute’s purpose was to put a “friendly, cheerful face for a government that is responsible for more deaths than nearly any other in the history of our species.”

The US has had similar concerns regarding CI and potential foreign interference campaigns. 

In 2018, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before a Senate intelligence committee and indicated that the federal policing arm had taken investigative steps into the campus group.  

“We do share concerns about the Confucius Institutes,” said Wray. 

“We’ve been watching that development for a while. It’s just one of many tools that they take advantage of. We have seen some decrease recently in their own enthusiasm and commitment to that particular program, but it is something that we’re watching warily and in certain instances have developed appropriate investigative steps.”

Toronto border officials conduct the largest prohibited gun smuggling bust on record

By
True North Wire
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The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced on Tuesday that it had intercepted 65 prohibited firearms from entering into the country. To date, the gun bust is the largest conducted on record.

According to the official CBSA news release, border officials intercepted a shipment of revolvers arriving from the US. The 65 prohibited handguns were hidden among two shipments of starter guns used in races at a Brampton warehouse. 

“The shipment was declared as ‘starter guns’ in the accompanying Customs commercial declaration. Officers noticed some anomalies with the Customs declaration and upon examination, they discovered several hard plastic cases containing a total of 45 revolvers,” claimed the CBSA news release. 

“A related shipment was examined and resulted in the seizure of 20 additional revolvers. All of the seized firearms are prohibited in Canada, per the Firearms Reference Table.”

The seizure comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pushed through a gun ban on legal firearms owners. 

Trudeau bypassed debate in the House of Commons by forcing the bill into law using an Order in Council. The ban blacklisted 1,500 different firearms and gave legal gun owners a two year period to surrender their weapons for “fair compensation.” 

The bill was made into law despite widespread opposition among Canadians. Prior to the ban, the largest parliamentary petition to date called on the federal government to put the matter up for debate in the House. 

“The use of an Order in Council is an egregious overreach of executive authorities, bypassing the democratic process of the House and the elected representatives of Canadians,” claimed petition E-2341. 

“This executive order would strip law-abiding Canadians it has approved through the RCMP Canada Firearms Program, of their legally purchased property.”

Critics have claimed that the gun ban would do very little to stop the threat of gun violence in Canada. 

In July 2019, Winnipeg Police Inspector Max Waddel suggested that a gun ban would not curb gun violence. 

“The reality is, if criminals want to get their hands on [a gun], they’re going to get their hands on it. [A ban is] not going to do anything. It will come from illegal means again. If people wish to get and claim an illegal gun, they’re going to do it,” Waddell told the Winnipeg Sun.

FUREY: Why isn’t parliament sitting?

By
Anthony Furey
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The Trudeau government is spending at record levels. Oversight and scrutiny are needed more than ever, and yet parliament isn’t sitting.

Trudeau claims it’s unsafe for parliament to be sitting because of the coronavirus but he has no issue attending an anti-racism protest with thousands of people.

True North’s Anthony Furey says Canadians deserve government accountability.

Black Lives Matter prevents black UCP minister from speaking at event

By
True North Wire
-

An Edmonton Black Lives Matter event barred Alberta’s Minister of Municipal Affairs Kaycee Madu from speaking at an anti-racism protest.

Madu, who was born in Africa, took to Twitter to announce that organizers informed him he would not be welcome at the demonstration as a speaker. 

“Hi Omar, I had agreed to speak at the event, but was told by organizers that I could not. I respected their wishes and visited friends at Africa Centre instead,” tweeted Madu in reply to another Twitter user who asked why no UCP members were present. 

According to the Western Standard, Madu claims it was the “NDP and their allies” who were responsible for having him banned as a speaker. 

NDP MLA Rakhi Pancholi targeted Madu on Twitter saying that his actions were not promoting equality. 

“Labelling people as ‘leftists’ (read: the ‘enemy’) is the opposite of equality, justice & human dignity. @KayceeMaduYEG should reflect more on WHY he was not welcome to speak. This is about the movement, not about him. Put away the ego & division, Minister. And listen,” tweeted Pancholi.

“I have always spoken honestly about my lived experience with racism. I was looking forward to standing in solidarity with the organizers and community. Your team and others worked quickly to prevent that. Your tweets are disgusting and shameful. You only know division,” replied Madu. 

The conflict between Madu and the NDP spilt into the legislature on Monday when Madu called out the opposition party for sowing division. 

“Unfortunately the NDP and their allies did not want me to attend that rally last Friday. On this side of the aisle, all they want is division and this is a matter that affects all of us regardless of political parties,” said Madu. 

Anti-racism rallies have spilt into Canada from the US after American George Floyd died while in police custody in Minneapolis. 

Most major cities in Canada, including Edmonton, have seen demonstrations often involving thousands of people, despite coronavirus measures limiting the size of large public gatherings. 

Andrew Scheer grills Trudeau over attending protest while limiting the role of parliament

By
True North Wire
-

Conservative party leader Andrew Scheer grilled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday for attending an anti-racism rally on Parliament Hill while simultaneously restricting the role of parliament due to the coronavirus pandemic.  

“He met with thousands of people outside on Parliament Hill just a few days ago, why can we not meet with a fraction of that number inside Parliament Hill to do the work on Canadians’ behalf?” asked Scheer during a COVID-19 Pandemic special committee meeting.

“We’ve been sitting four days a week over the past number of weeks to continue to engage in the kind of back and forth that is essential in our democracy. At the same time, I do want to highlight that peaceful protest is a fundamental right in Canada. Thousands of Canadians spoke out over the past week and it was important for me to be a part of them, to hear them and to demonstrate my support,” said Trudeau. 

Videos of last Friday’s protest show a masked Trudeau taking a knee in the crowd’s midst, while surrounded by security. 

As exclusively reported by True North, a majority of the Twitter replies to the original footage of Trudeau kneeling was negative. 

Critics have accused the prime minister of ignoring his own social distancing rules now more than once. In April, Trudeau drew fire for crossing a provincial boundary and visiting his family for Easter weekend.

During the committee meeting, Scheer also blasted Trudeau for limiting the amount of time the House of Commons has to debate the Liberal government’s latest coronavirus spending. 

“Because of the prime minister’s rules that he’s imposed on this chamber, members of parliament will only have four hours to debate over 80 billion dollars worth of new spending,” said Scheer. 

Conservatives have accused Trudeau of withholding information on the state of Ottawa’s finances. 

In May, Finance Minister Bill Morneau repeatedly failed to answer direct questions about Canada’s balance sheet. 

Gender-critical feminist professor removed from service role for making students feel “unsafe”

By
Lindsay Shepherd
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“I think trans ideology and trans activism poses serious dangers to women and girls. I don’t think “sex work” should be decriminalized; I think the Nordic model, which continues to criminalize the buying of sex (but not the selling of it), is the best policy approach to prostitution. I think biological sex is germane to women’s oppression and I think gender is a system that legitimates women’s oppression. I don’t take a celebratory attitude to gender identity, but a critical one. You don’t have to agree with me on any of these points, but you are going to be exposed to these perspectives at length during the course.”

This is how University of Alberta professor Kathleen Lowrey begins her Anthropology of Women class. She lays out the inspiration for the course, makes a point to tell her students that they are certainly not obliged to agree with her views, and lets students know they still have the option of dropping the course if they don’t feel it’s the best fit for them.

Lowrey has also adorned her office door with radical feminist quotes, such as one that reads,

“Women’s rights and trans activism are in direct opposition because that is how the men driving this anti-feminist movement have intentionally positioned themselves. That’s the whole point of it. It’s not about ‘trans rights’ – it’s about control.”

There are many such quotes, which Lowrey describes as “outspoken but not hate speech.”

But because of her views as a gender-critical feminist, Lowrey learned that an unspecified number of informal complaints had been made against her by students claiming she has made the learning environment “unsafe.”

Lowrey, who was serving as the anthropology department’s associate chair of undergraduate programs, was subsequently asked to resign from her role. Lowrey refused, and stated that if the University wanted to fire her from her position as chair, they could provide her with a letter laying out the reasons for her dismissal. 

She then received a letter from Dean of Arts Lesley Cormack, which informed her that “your appointment to the position of Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Anthropology will conclude effective July 1, 2020. You are unfortunately not able to be as effective in this administrative role as the Department and Faculty require, and it is not in the best interests of the students or the University for you to carry on.” 

Cormack offered no concrete reasons as to why Lowrey was being dismissed. 

Although Lowrey was fired from a service role and not her academic position, her professorship is still affected: “being dismissed from a service position is bad, since one of the things I am evaluated on each year is my service performance. The evaluation is 40% about your teaching, 40% about your research, and 20% about your service,” says Lowrey. 

True North contacted the office of Dean of Students André Costopoulos and asked how many individuals complained about Lowrey and what the complaints alleged, but received a reply from UAlberta strategic communications manager Hallie Brodie refusing to comment.

True North also reached out to the UAlberta department of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and Human Resources Services, but did not receive a response. 

Some academics have called on the University of Alberta to reinstate Lowrey as associate chair, but her position has not been restored. 
At least one of Lowrey’s colleagues celebrated the university’s move, writing on Twitter, “Faculty member in my dept with transphobic posters on her office door has been removed from her role as Associate Chair, Undergrad Programs (although still a tenured prof). I support [the faculty of art’s] decision & am glad the university is protecting our students. #TransWomenareWomen.”

EXCLUSIVE: 76% of Canadians want a total pause on immigration

By
Candice Malcolm
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The majority of Canadians want to close the borders and pause immigration into the country until the coronavirus threat has passed and until Canada’s economy has fully recovered, according to a recent scientific poll commissioned by True North.

Three quarters (76%) of Canadians polled by ONE, a research company based out of Toronto, strongly agree or moderately agree with the statement: Canada should temporarily pause immigration until a vaccine is developed for coronavirus and the unemployment rate drops down to pre-coronavirus levels. 

The survey shows a vast consensus to the immigration pause among all regions, age groups, education levels, income levels, political party preference and in both official languages. 

Two-thirds of Canadians who voted Liberal (67%) in the 2019 federal election support the statement, as do two-thirds of NDP voters (66%). The consensus is even stronger among Conservative voters, as 67% strongly agree and another 22% moderately agree. Likewise, 48% of Bloc voters strongly agree and 39% moderately agree with the immigration pause.

Canadians similarly agree that Canada’s temporary immigration programs should also be suspended during this time. 

Nearly two-thirds (61%) of Canadians surveyed agree that “Canada should temporarily pause the Temporary Foreign Workers program until a vaccine is developed for coronavirus and the unemployment rate drops down to pre-coronavirus levels.”

Back in April, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hinted that life in Canada will not go back to normal until a vaccine is developed. “Normality as it was before will not come back full-on until we get a vaccine for this… that will be a very long way off,” said the prime minister during his daily COVID-19 media performance. “We will have to remain vigilant for at least a year.”

While a vaccine may be years away, Canada’s economy may need even more time to recover. The unemployment rate in February 2020, prior to the coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdowns, was 5.6%. According to the May 2020 jobs report, Canada’s unemployment rate is at an all-time high of 13.7%. 

With millions of Canadians out of work and looking for jobs, the rationale for bringing in temporary foreign workers to fill gaps in the labour market is wearing thin for Canadians. Rather than importing cheap labour from developing countries and risking that those travellers may bring coronavirus with them, this survey shows Canadians would broadly prefer hiring domestically. 

There is also confusion around the state of Canada’s immigration system and the policies introduced during the coronavirus lockdown. 

Many Canadians wrongly believe that our borders are currently closed and that Canada’s immigration system has been shut down. Trudeau announced border and airport closures and travel restrictions in mid-March, and the mainstream media largely reported that the borders were closed. 

Official numbers from the Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA), however, paint a different picture. 

According to the most recent CBSA Traveller Statistics released on June 3, more than one million travellers entered Canada at land border crossings between the period of March 21 and June 2. An additional 763,000 travellers arrived at our international airports during that same week. 

CBSA does not release the immigration status of land travellers, but it does for air travellers. Of the 763,000 people who landed at Canadian international airports since Trudeau’s March announcement, only 283,000 were Canadian citizens and 21,000 were Permanent Residents. More than half of the people arriving in Canada — 459,000 — were new immigrants. 

This is because the Trudeau government’s travel ban includes wide exemptions for new immigrants, including students, agricultural workers and others who come to Canada through the Temporary Foreign Workers Program. 

A recent employment report compiled by the federal government likewise revealed that 13,000 foreign workers were approved to come to Canada between March 15 to May 8, or approximately 1,625 per week.

According to ONE’s research, most Canadians would prefer no immigration for the time being. 

ONE surveyed 1,000 Canadians using a national representative sample between June 3 and June 6 in both official languages. The survey was commissioned by True North Centre for Public Policy and the margin of error is +/- 4.3%.

76% of Canadians want a total pause on immigration by True North on Scribd

Liberals pledge $8.9 million to fund abortions overseas during pandemic

By
True North Wire
-

The Trudeau government will be spending millions of taxpayer dollars to ensure women outside of Canada will have access to abortions during the coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, International Development Minister Karina Gould told the Canadian Press that the government will be contributing $8.9 million to ensure women in select countries have access to reproductive health services.

Gould claims that the funding is necessary to protect women’s health and safety in countries where services are limited due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Where exactly this funding will go is still unclear, however it is known that $2 million will go to the United Nations to support a campaign against gender-based violence.

Earlier this year, the government pledged a total of $159.5 million to help other nations deal with the coronavirus pandemic, with a portion set aside for “women’s reproductive health.”

“Canada’s investment also aims to ensure that its international partners can maintain their services for vulnerable populations where possible, including support for sexual and reproductive health and rights,” stated a Global Affairs Canada press release. 

In July 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will be spending $14 billion over ten years on reproductive health services abroad, focusing on abortion.

The announcement nearly doubled the amount of funding Canada sends to abortion providers overseas.

Funding abortions is just one of the controversial ways Canada spends taxpayer money abroad.

Earlier this year the government increased funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), an agency with connections to the terrorist group Hamas.

The United States, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands all cut funding to the UNRWA after the agency’s leadership was accused of nepotism and corruption in 2019.

Recently it was revealed that Canada gave $41 million in foreign aid to China in 2019, even after the communist regime boycotted Canadian products and continues to hold Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in jail without legal rights.

Premier Ford opposes defunding police

By
True North Wire
-

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he does not believe in defunding the police as Toronto city council considers reducing the city’s police budget.

When asked on Tuesday, Ford said that defunding police will not keep Ontarian communities safe.

“I don’t believe in that for a second,” Ford said.

“I think we need strong police within the communities. What we do need to do is have a higher standard. We need for focus on more training.”

Calls to defund the police have quickly gained traction amongst the political left after American George Floyd died while in police custody in late May.

On Monday two Toronto city councillors announced they will put forward a motion to cut the budget of Toronto Police Service by 10%, approximately $122 million. 

The motion says that funds taken from police will go to “communities are supported in ways that avoid having to have the police show up to the door in the first place,” though it’s unclear what that would look like.  

Ford, a former Toronto city councillor, criticized the motion while also praising outgoing police Chief Mark Saunders for his leadership.

“I’m a big believer, as Chief Saunders always believed, in community policing…. But I just don’t believe in cutting police budgets — just never believed in that,” Ford said.

In 2019 the Ontario government cut the Ontario Provincial Police’s $1.1 billion budget by $46 million. No police jobs were lost in the cut.

Last year, Toronto saw a total of 395 shootings, resulting in 549 injuries and 33 deaths in a record year for the city.

In Minneapolis, where the death of George Floyd occurred, city council recently pledged to “dismantle” their police department. The city plans on replacing the police with a “community-based public safety model.”

The four officers involved in Floyd’s death have all been charged.

A comprehensive list of police officers injured or killed in US riots

By
True North Wire
-

Updated: June 10, 2020

As protests erupt across the US over the death of George Floyd, numerous law enforcement officers have been attacked or killed during the riots. 

While most protests in the country have been lawful and peaceful, those seeking to take advantage of the unrest have resorted to looting, property damage and attacking men and women in uniform. 

Here is a list of officers who have been attacked or killed during the ongoing US riots, according to Fox News.

Albany, N.Y.: Officer sent to the hospital after protester throws a brick at him

Atlanta: Officer Maximilian Brewer underwent surgery after a protester hit him with an ATV 

Brockton, Mass.: One state trooper and a few local Brockton police officers suffered minor injuries

Buffalo, N.Y.: Two police officers are hit by a vehicle and one other has his leg broken and pelvis shattered after protesters run him over

Champaign, Ill: Several police officers suffered minor injuries after allegedly being assaulted

Cincinnati, Ohio: Officer narrowly escaped death after a bullet struck his ballistic helmet

Columbia, S.C.: 15 law enforcement personnel injured during a Saturday riot

Chicago: 132 Chicago Police Department officers injured in violent riots in the city

Davenport, Iowa: A plainclothes police officer injured after an individual opened fire on his vehicle

Denver: Three city police officers sent to the hospital after a hit-and-run that also injured a bystander

Harrisburg, Penn.: Two police officers sent to the hospital during a violent protest on Saturday

Las Vegas: One cop put on life support after he was shot in the head during a violent protest on Monday; 12 additional officers injured during Friday’s rioting

Los Angeles: 27 LAPD officers injured during weekend rioting

Lynchburg, Va.: Several officers were shot at during protests but were not injured  

Minnesota: Police officers shot at during a protest, and a precinct in the city was set on fire by protesters

Maryland: Protesters injured four county police officers and damaged several police cruisers

New York City: Dozens of NYPD officers injured during weekend rioting with one video showing an officer being struck by a car in a hit-and-run.

Over 350 NYPD officers injured in two weeks of protests. Injuries include being hit by vehicles, head injuries from bricks and fire extinguishers as well as other serious wounds.

Oak Lawn, Il.: Three officers injured during Monday’s protests

Oakland, Calif.: FBI officer Dave Patrick Underwood was shot and killed while providing security for a courthouse, and another officer was injured in the shooting

Oakdale, Calif: Two officers suffered injuries after a clash broke out at a protest.

Philadelphia: City police reported several assaults on officers and multiple police cars set on fire

Pittsburgh, Penn.: Nine police officers hurt and sent to the hospital in clashes with protesters

Providence, R.I: 9 officers injured after protesters threw bricks at them as violent protests erupted in the city

Richmond, Va.: Two officers hurt during a protest after being hit with a baseball bat and a beer bottle 

Rhode Island: Nine officers injured amongst rioting

Sacramento, Calif.: Seven police officers received minor injuries at the hands of violent protesters

Salt Lake City, Utah: 21 police officers required medical care after being injured by protesters, with one reporting that he was hit on the head with a baseball bat

San Antonio: Three officers were injured after being hit by bricks and bottles 

San Jose, Calif.: Several officers sustained injuries during a May 29 protest and one was sent to the hospital

Santa Ana, Calif.: Two officers had to be taken to the hospital after being hit in the head by projectiles thrown at them by protesters

Springfield, Mo: Springfield Police Department officer Mark Priebe was hospitalized in the ICU with a spinal cord injury after being rammed by an SUV. Priebe has to undergo surgery and will likely never be able to walk again.

St. Louis, Mo.: 77-year-old David Dorn, a retired police officer, was shot dead by looters. His death was broadcast live on Facebook. Four other police officers were also shot in downtown St. Louis by violent protesters

Washington, D.C.: 11 Washington police officers injured during Sunday’s protests. One officer required surgery after being hit by a brick in the leg. Over 50 members of the Secret Service were also hurt during clashes, some sustaining injuries from Molotov cocktails

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